Taiwanese authorities said Friday they are investigating whether a self-proclaimed “prophet” is trying to make money with a prediction that the island will be engulfed by a giant tsunami in May.
The man, known to the public only as “Teacher Wang”, has set off a rush to build makeshift shelters from containers, and prosecutors are wondering if he might be colluding with companies in the container industry.
“We are investigating if Wang collaborated with the container business as part of a scam to defraud people,” said a spokesman for the prosecutors’ office in central Taiwan’s Nantou County.
Photo: Liu Hsin-De, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者劉信德
More than 100 shelters converted from cargo containers are being built in Puli, a town in the county, after Wang made public a prophesy that a quake-induced monster wave would hit Taiwan on May 11, claiming millions of lives.
Wang had advised people to stay in cargo containers, which he said would be safer than regular buildings once the alleged imminent catastrophe happened, according to local media reports.
“He could also be violating the Social Order Law by spreading rumors to cause public panic,” the spokesman said.
Photo: Chang ChIA-Ming, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者張嘉明
Fraud convictions carry a maximum five-year jail term while breaking the law on social order is punishable by a fine of up to NT$30,000 (US$1,000), he said.
Taiwan’s weather bureau on Thursday also warned that Wang risked a fine of up to NT$1 million for issuing unauthorized disaster warnings on his blog — remarks he later removed.
(AFP)
台灣當局上週五表示,他們正在調查一位自稱是「預言家」的人,瞭解他是否利用預測台灣將會在本月被巨大海嘯吞噬的預言,行詐財之實。
Photo: Tong Chen-Kuo, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者佟振國
這位外界稱之為「王老師」的人,已掀起一股趕忙搭建臨時貨櫃屋熱潮,而檢察官想釐清的是,他是否跟貨櫃公司有勾結。
台灣中部南投地檢署的發言人說,「我們正在調查這起疑似詐取民眾錢財的案件,釐清『王老師』是否與貨櫃公司合作。」
在「王老師」公開預言台灣將於五月十一日,遭到地震引發海嘯侵襲,數百萬人將死於浩劫後,人們趕忙在南投縣埔里鎮搭建超過一百個貨櫃改建的避難屋。
根據當地媒體報導,在「王老師」聲稱即將發生的大浩劫來臨時,他認為貨櫃屋比一般大樓安全,所以已勸人們要留在貨櫃屋內。
地檢署發言人說,「因他散佈謠言引起民眾恐慌,可能也觸犯社會秩序維護法。」
他繼續表示,詐欺罪最高可判處五年徒刑,至於違反社會秩序維護法,則最高可處以新台幣三萬元(約一千美元)的罰鍰。
台灣氣象局上週四也警告「王老師」不要在部落格上,發佈為未經許可的災難警訊,違者可處以高達新台幣一百萬元的罰鍰。王老師在部落格上登出危言聳聽的言論,隨後即被移除。
(法新社/翻譯:林亞蒂)
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